Sacramento Woman To Stand Trial In Microwave Death Of Baby

Police arrested a Northern California mother on a murder charge, saying they believed she had burned her six-week-old baby to death in a microwave oven. Ka Yang, 29, of Sacramento, had apparently claimed the young child’s March 17 death at home was caused by a seizure.

Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Eugene Balanon on Tuesday also found enough evidence to support a special allegation that Ka Yang tortured her daughter, Mirabelle.

Prosecutors ruled out the death penalty, but Yang faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.

The 30-year-old mother of four has been held since June after investigators determined her baby died of “extensive thermal injuries.” A pathologist testified during Tuesday’s hearing that the microwave essentially cooked the child’s stomach and small intestine.

The Sacramento Bee reports that Yang’s defense attorney, Linda Parisi, suggested that her client might have been affected by a seven-year history of seizures.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)